Two teens die in head-on crash days before starting senior year, Colorado cops say

A head-on collision with an accused drunk driver killed two 17-year-olds in Castle Rock days before they were meant to begin their senior year in high school, Colorado authorities tell news outlets.

A 2005 Toyota SUV and a 2006 Honda pickup truck collided at 11:50 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, on a highway frontage road, Colorado State Patrol officers told McClatchy News.

Colton Bellamy and Audrey Todd died in the crash, KMGH reported. Two other 17-year-olds in the Honda with them were injured, one seriously.

“They were all going home, they were just going to get dropped off and end the night but never got to,” classmate Eli Thayer told KDVR.

The driver of the Toyota, Ricky Avalos-Trujillo, 26, faces charges including driving under the influence and vehicular homicide, Colorado State Patrol officers said. He’s being held on $250,000 bail, according to Douglas County jail records.

Only the teenage driver of the Honda was wearing a seat belt, Colorado State Patrol troopers said. The Toyota crossed into oncoming traffic and hit the Honda as it tried to swerve out of the way.

Bellamy and Todd were days away from starting their senior year at Castle View High School, which will welcome students back on Tuesday, Aug. 9, KCNC reported.

In a message to parents, the school’s principal said counselors will be on hand, KUSA reported.

“Colton and Audrey were very good people,” classmate Rae Jensen told the station. “Colton, he was a very motivated person and he could light up a room of people. Audrey was the most beautiful girl ever. She was so smart and she was so intelligent and they didn’t deserve this. They did nothing wrong.”

Their deaths left other classmates in shock.

“I was still praying that I’d get a call that they woke up,” classmate Jasper Smithwick told KDVR.

Castle Rock is a city of about 75,000 south of Denver.

This story was originally published August 8, 2022 at 7:57 AM with the headline "Two teens die in head-on crash days before starting senior year, Colorado cops say."